Motorola Xoom BOM estimated at $278

A cost breakdown of Motorola’s Xoom tablet reveals that the new toy is somewhat more expensive to produce than an iPad, but this hardly justifies its high price.

UBM Techinsights estimates the Xoom BOM (bill of materials) at $278, or $33 more than a similarly spec’d iPad. However, the Xoom costs about $70 more than a comparable iPad, which sounds quite bad considering Apple’s traditionally high markup.

Xoom’s cameras, something the iPad lacks altogether, cost $14. The 10-inch 1280x800 screen costs $5 more than Apple’s screen and the Tegra 2 processor is also pricier than Apple’s A4.

However, Apple’s new iPad 2 is just around the corner and it is expected to feature various upgrades while sticking to roughly the same price.